Darkest Moon
by KJ Groening
Summary: The sequel to "Transit Twilight" follows Jack LeFleche and his struggles with the sudden absence of his support system when his girlfriend, Alia Veture, and his best friend, Edward Cullen, are ripped out his life.
1. Birthday

I didn't realize I was dreaming at first. I was sitting in the middle of the school gym with Alia, Edward, Jacob, and Teddy. We were having some sort of picnic, but we weren't eating anything. I think it was because we were too busy laughing at some kind of joke. I embraced the warm and relaxing atmosphere.

"Hey guys," Teddy said, standing up. "Have you met my girlfriend?"

I felt my heart pause. "What girlfriend?" I asked.

"This girlfriend." An eerie voice echoed. I knew that voice instantly. I shot up.

"Zhi!" I cried. I turned to my friends. "Guys, it's Zhi! We have to stop her."

No one listened to me, they continued to laugh at a joke that I just realized was never told!

"Freeze," Zhi said, stepping out of the shadows. Then, just like that, my friends froze. It was like time had stopped only for them. I whipped around to Zhi.

"You can't control me!" I hissed. Zhi grinned at me.

"Jack," she mused. "Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack."

"Stop that!" I shouted.

"Don't move." Zhi sang.

I felt my body stiffen. I couldn't move it. How was this possible?! I tried desperately to twist myself away from Zhi as she sauntered towards me.

Suddenly, I was watching this whole situation from a third-person perspective. I saw me standing there, frozen, like the main character of a video game.

"Hold this." Zhi purred. She offered me… my body? An exactor knife. I watched helplessly as my body slowly reached out and took it from her.

"Stop!" I yelled.

My body turned to look at me, and I shuddered. I saw myself with a vacant, emotionless expression. Zhi looked at me too and smirked smugly.

"Don't listen to her!" I yelled at myself.

"Gut yourself like a midday snack, would you?" Zhi said sweetly as she caressed my body's face.

"Stop!"

The knife slowly moved up.

"Don't do it!"

It gently pressed into the skin of my body's neck

"NO!"

* * *

I woke with a start – my eyelids popping wide open – and gasped. The dull gray light of an overcast morning replaced the florescent lights of my dream.

_Just a dream_, I told myself. _It was only a dream. _I took a deep breath and then jumped again when my alarm went off. I switched it off and rolled out of bed. It was a school day, and I had to get ready.

When I went to wash my face, I felt unnerved looking at myself in the mirror. I could still see my face from the dream. I made a silly expression just to see my face scrunch up. It didn't help much.

_It was just a dream,_ I reminded myself again. _No, it was more of a nightmare._ I shuddered.

I decided to skip breakfast because I wanted to get out of my house as quickly as possible. It was impossible to avoid my dad in the morning since he insisted on leaving for work after I left for school.

"Hey, Birthday Boy!" He called out to me as I walked by, "I got something for you!" I paused.

Was is September the thirteenth already? Wow, I had completely forgotten that my birthday was coming up.

"Oh, dad!" I gushed, "You didn't have to."

"Don't worry about it!" Charlie grinned. "Here, happy birthday!"

I smiled meekly and accepted my gifts. I opened the small boxed gift first.

"Oh my gosh dad!" I exclaimed. "This is an amazing camera!" I read its features from its box.

"Yes!" Charlie sounded pleased with himself. "I thought you might have fun trying out photography."

"Gotta admit, this is a pretty good incentive," I chuckled. I set it down on the kitchen table and reached from the other gift, but I stopped.

_Happy Birthday, Love Mom_, it read.

Mom. I had learned recently that my mother and I weren't all human. During summer vacation, I had developed some sort of mind power that only worked around Edward. Apparently, Charlie's heritage was all human, which meant I had inherited my mind powers from my mom. I would need to ask her about it.

"Everything ok, son?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," I said. Shaking myself out of it, I took the package and ripped it open. Inside was a scrapbook with "Senior" written on the front. I opened it and flipped through the empty pages.

"Oh, I see," I mused slyly, "This is where I put all the photo's I take."

"Yeah!" Charlie beamed.

"It's nice to see you and mom coordinate," I said. "I'll definitely try to put this to good use." I set the camera and the book down and picked up my backpack.

"I'm just going to leave them here for today though," I said. "Bye dad, see you later!"

"Have a good day!" He called after me.

Once I was alone in my car, my dream came back again. I struggled to stay composed. Although we had stopped talking about it, the fact that Zhi had never been caught loomed over us like the blade of a guillotine. I continued to have my silent panic attack until I pulled into the familiar parking lot behind Forks Highschool and spotted Edward and my girlfriend, Alia, chatting in front of his Volvo.

The despair momentarily vanished; comfort taking its place. It made me feel good to know that I could count on them, and they could count on me. I sometimes couldn't believe the good fortune I had to have them as my friends.

Alice, Edward's sister, was standing next to them, involved in the conversation as well.

Edward and Alice weren't' blood-related, but they acted like siblings, and I think they felt like real siblings too. In Forks, the story was that all the Cullen siblings were adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, Esme; both plainly too young to have teenage children.

Upon hearing the slam of my '53 Chevy truck door, Alice skipped over to me, her pixie face glowing under her spiky black hair.

"Happy birthday, Jack!" She chimed.

"Thank you!" I said back.

"Hey, Handsome." Alia called out, "Don't you want a birthday kiss from your girlfriend?"

I went over to her and picked her up as we kissed.

"Wow," Alice sighed, "You two make such a cute couple." She looked at Alia and winked.

"Get out of my head," Alia said teasingly. Edward looked away.

Edward and Alice were vampires who had the ability to read minds. After fighting Zhi and loosing, however, Edward's mind abilities had been diminished, and they still hadn't returned to full power yet. He probably couldn't hear what Alice was hearing.

Alia put a hand on Edwards's shoulder.

"It's ok," She said, "You ready for the siren?"

He rolled his eyes.

In the wake of Zhi's attack on the school, metal detectors had been installed in the front entrance of the main building. Since Alia and I had bones replaced by metal prostheses, we always set them off. It had been fun last week, but it was very quickly getting old.

"Oh, by the way," Alice said, "You guys are coming over to our place tonight, right?"

"Huh?" I said, "Why?"

"Because," Alia interjected, "Edward and Alice wanted to celebrate… uh… your senior year tonight."

"Huh," I smirked, "It sounds more like a poorly hidden surprise party."

"Oh, no!" Alia gasped, "Are you sure you don't read minds! Act surprised tonight. Ok?"

"I will," I said, laughing.

The four of us were so distracted by our conversation that we were startled by the level nine alarm that triggered when Alia and I crossed the threshold; even though it had been happening for almost two weeks.

"Ugh, it's those seniors again." The security guard muttered as he rushed to turn off the alarm.

It had been agreed upon by the school board that the exams would be skipped, and the students would progress to the next year with the grades they had. So, even though no one had taken the finals, most of my friends and I had passed to our final grade.

"Guess who's in the house!" Alia called.


	2. Party

As the day progressed, I received many birthday wishes. Most of them were from my friends, but quite a few came from my classmates. A lot of them still felt guilty for their actions preceding the, what was now being called, the event. I still couldn't remember that day clearly, but apparently, half the school went insane on me and attacked me physically. I have a dim semblance of being deadnamed that day, but that was about it.

I didn't hold any ill will against them. They had all been controlled by Edward's crazy ex, Zhi; who's mind powers allowed her to control others by giving them orders. They had no choice in their actions.

Last week had been very awkward. I had hoped to sneak into school and keep a low profile, but I had announced my arrival with the metal detector alarm. I got a lot of nervous glances, and people seemed to avoid me.

Teddy was one of the only ones who didn't elude me, Alia or Edward. He had been enthusiastic about the bone replacements, and now I'm pretty sure the entire school knew about it.

Lunches had started off awkward as well, but by the beginning of this week, they were back to normal. My friends Teddy, Kate, Eric, Miranda, Tyler, and Keven (though that last one didn't really count, I was still pissed at him for outing me as trans) all sat at the same table and chatted. Like last year, Edward would "eat" at his own table and join us halfway through lunch. Except, this time, his sister Alice joined us too. Ever since the older Cullen's had graduated, she had been folded into our friend group. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily Alice was accepted.

Today's lunch took me by surprise, though. My group of friends had purchased a moderately sized cake and placed it at the center. When I got there, they stood up and sang happy birthday to me.

"Happy birthday, Jack!" Kate exclaimed as she jumped up and hugged me. I hugged her back.

"Oh my gosh, you guys!" I gushed. "This was so nice of you!"

"I guess it was the least we could do," Kevin muttered.

"No one is forcing you to be here, man." I hissed back. Kevin rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else.

"Ignore him," Teddy said, "Today's your day! Now, how are we going to cut this cake?" Everyone looked at it.

"How about we just dig in and eat it as it is?" Alia suggested. I couldn't hold in my chuckle.

"I'm not doing that," Kevin complained, "That would be gay." Alia picked up a plastic fork and scooped up a small piece.

"Guess you don't get any cake then," She said. With that, everyone else dug in. I didn't keep track of what Kevin did. Right on time, Edward and Alice showed up.

"Greetings," He said.

"Hey!" Everyone said through mouthfuls of cake.

"Do you want some cake?" Kate asked. Edward, Alice, and Alia smirked to each other (I'm pretty sure I smirked too.)

"No, thank you," Edward mused, "I'm good." He looked at me and gave me an odd expression.

"What?" I asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

"How's Edith?" Alia asked out of the blue. Edward looked taken aback, and I could tell he was very embarrassed. I felt my cheeks grow warm out of empathy.

"Oooh," I said slyly, "Who's Edith?"

Edward looked away and tried to play off his discomfort as aloofness. "Someone I wanted to introduce you to this afternoon." He said.

"You got a girlfriend?" Teddy interjected, "Big surprise!"

* * *

The afternoon passed quickly. School ended, and I walked to my car with my friends.

"Hey, where's your car?" I asked.

"Alice drove it home," Edward said, "Alia and I are going to drive you home to drop off your stuff."

Alia and Edward approached my car. Edward went for the driver's side, and Alia prepared to jump in the back.

I folded my arms and made no move to get in my truck. "Hey, since it's my birthday, can I drive?"

Alia and Edward stopped and looked at me, confused.

"It's just that you two drive so fast." I said meekly, "I want to get home at the speed limit today."

Alia and Edward looked at each other and shrugged. We reshuffled with me in the driver's seat, Alia in the passenger seat and Edward in the back.

We got home at the same time Charlie did. Charlie popped out of his cruiser with a pizza box in his hands.

"Hey, kids," Charlie grinned at me, "I thought you'd like a break from cooking and washing dishes for your birthday. Hungry?"

"Sure, thanks, Dad!"

Charlie didn't comment on Edward's apparent lack of appetite and Alia's abundance of it. Though this may have been because we did a lot of walking around and Alia ate enough pizza for two, he probably thought Edward _did_ have a slice.

"Thanks for the pizza, Mr. LeFleche!" Alia chimed, "But we're off now."

I looked at Charlie. He gave Alia a knowing nod.

"The Mariners are playing the Sox tonight," Charlie explained, "So I won't be any kind of company."

"You sneaky blighter!" I exclaimed, "You're in on it too?" Charlie grinned.

"Here." He said; he scooped up my new camera and threw it to me. I fumbled it and almost dropped it.

"Are you nuts?" I cried, "That's not how you treat a camera!"

"Nice save," Charlie noted, "You should take some pictures tonight. You know how your mother gets; she'll be wanting to see them faster than you can take them."

"That's a great idea!" Alia chimed.

"Indeed," Edward agreed.

I turned the camera to my friends and snapped the first picture. "It works."

"Ok. You kids have fun tonight," Charlie was clearly dismissing us as he was already edging towards the living room and the TV.

When we got to the truck, Edward jumped behind the wheel, and this time I didn't argue. I still had a hard time finding the obscure turnoff to his house in the dark.

Edward drove north through Forks, visibly chafing the speed limit enforced by my Chevy. The engine groaned even louder than usual as he pushed it over fifty.

"Oh, your poor truck!" Alia moaned.

"You know what you would love?" Edward muttered, "A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…"

"There's nothing wrong with my truck." I cut in.

"Man, your radio's reception kind of sucks." Alia sighed with a grin.

"Not you too!" I said with mock defensiveness. Alia giggled. I spent the rest of the ride toying around with my new camera, adjusting its settings.

"Hey," I said as we pulled up to his house, "If I developed this film, will you show up in the pictures?"

Edward and Alia laughed.

"He should show up since that's a digital camera," Alia said.

"Huh." I mused.

Edward's family was waiting in the vast white living room, and they greeted me with a loud "Happy birthday, Jack!"

"Wow, you guys!" I gasped as I looked over the room. It was decked out in birthday decorations, and there were a bunch of sweets and gifts and plates on the small living room table which was protected with a white table cloth.

Esme hugged me carefully and kissed me on the forehead. Then Carlisle came over and put his arm around my shoulders. This all made me feel a little awkward, and I felt Alia stiffen next to me.

Edward's other siblings were behind them. Rosalie was a buxom blond, and she looked at me with some disdain. Emmett, a very muscular man with dark hair, came up to me and wrapped a massive arm around me and gave me a noogie.

"Look at you, pipsqueak!" He boomed, "You're almost part of the family."

The last one, Jasper, held back. He gave me a nod of acknowledgment.

"Time to open presents!" Alice said as she twirled into the room. She put her cool hand on my elbow and towed me to the table with the cake and shiny packages.

"Alright," I said enthusiastically. Alia followed me closely.

"Here!" Alice took my camera from my hands and replaced it with a big square box.

The box was so light it felt empty. The tag on top said that it was from Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. I tore off the paper and looked at what the box concealed.

It was something electrical, with lots of numbers in the name. I opened the box to get some illumination. But the box was empty.

"Oh, wow," I said, "You shouldn't have?"

Rosalie actually cracked a smile. Jasper laughed.

"It's a stereo for your truck," he explained, "Emmett's installing it right now."

"Oh, that makes more sense." I admitted, "Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie." I told them. I turned and gave Alia grin. She had set me up for the stereo on the way here. She, in return, gave me a smug smile back.

"Thanks, Emmet!" I called loudly. I heard his booming laugh from my truck, and I couldn't help laughing, too.

"Open mine, Edward and Alia's next," Alice said, so excited her voice was a high-pitched trill. She held a small, flat square in her hand.

I took the little package and stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

"Ouch," I hissed when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. Blood began to ooze from the tiny cut. I put my finger in my mouth, but what happened next happened very quickly.

"No!" Edward roared.

"Edward, stay down!" Alia yelled.

Edward didn't listen though, he threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table. I shattered the delicate little thing, scattering macaroons, plates and wrapping paper all over the floor.

"Edward!" Alia screeched.

Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide. Jasper growled as he tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward's face.

Alia rushed up to him and sprayed him in the face with the little spray bottle she kept in her purse. Jasper lurched back and clawed at his face, his skin began to blister and burn.

"Stay back!" Alia order. Jasper looked at me with his wild, empty eyes.

Suddenly the world around me expanded. Time seemed to slow down.

I felt like I was multiple people at the same time.

I felt panicked. I felt protective. I felt out of control. I felt fear, I had to flee. I felt full of self-control. I felt the thirst in my throat, the dryness that demanded blood.

All these feelings were disorientating, and, in confusion, I impulsively looked to the bright red blood gushing out of my arm. The smell was so strong. I slowly raised my arm and stuck out my tongue.

_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_ My brain demanded. I stopped, and the world returned to normal. I looked up from my arm – into the fevered eyes of the six ravenous vampires.

"I will kill you all if I have to!" Alia boomed.


	3. Stitches

Carlisle stayed calm; centuries in the emergency room were evident in his quiet, authoritative voice.

"Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside."

Emmett nodded. "Come on, Jasper."

Jasper struggled against Emmet and Rosalie as they wrestled him through the glass door being held open by Esme. She had one hand pressed over her mouth and nose.

Esme's heart-shaped face was ashamed. "I'm so sorry, Jack." She cried as she followed the others into the yard.

"Carlisle," Alia said as soon as they were out. Carlisle knelt beside me, leaning close to examine my arm. I still felt disorientated.

"Get back!" Alia hissed at Alice.

"I just want to give him a towel," Alice said meekly.

Carlisle shook his head. "There's too much glass in the wound." He reached over and ripped a long thing scrap from the white table cloth. He fashioned a makeshift tourniquet around my arm with it.

"Jack," Carlisle said softly. "Would you mind if I treated you here?"

"No," Alia said. She was still positioned between me and Edward. "We're going to a hospital."

"It's ok," I said. "I don't mind being treated here."

Alia said nothing.

"I'll get your bag," Alice said.

"Let's get him to the kitchen," Carlisle said. Edward nodded and approached me.

"Back off!" Alia hissed.

Edward jerked to a stop. He remained still as Carlisle and Alia helped me to the kitchen. As I passed him, I could feel that Edward wasn't breathing.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.

Alice popped up, dropped off Carlisle's bag and dashed off. Alia looked over my arm as she helped me in a chair. Carlisle came back from washing his hands, pulled up another chair, and went to work at once.

"Edward," Alia warned. She kept his eyes on him as she washed her hands as well.

"I can handle it," he insisted. But his jaw was ridged; the intensity of his thirst radiating off of him. Just having him in the room made me want to lick my arm again.

"I can feel your thirst from here, Edward," I said.

"You may as well go find Jasper," Carlisle said, "I'm sure he's upset with himself."

Edward's eyes narrowed, and he made no move to leave.

I grunted in a surprise when a numb, dead feeling spread through my arm. Edward suddenly sprinted smoothly through the kitchen's back door.

"Are you ok?" Alia returned to my side.

"Yeah," I said. I watched Alia and Carlisle work on my arm. It was the first time I'd seen how proficient a nurse Alia was. Alia gently and gracefully tweezered all the glass out of the wound while Carlisle prepared a tiny needle and thread. After Alia examined my arm to make sure she got all the glass splinters out, Carlisle stitched it up.

"There," Carlisle said as he examined my arm. "All done." He wiped an oversized Q-tip, dripping with some syrup colored liquid, thoroughly across the operation site. The smell was strange; it made my head spin, and it stained my skin.

"What is this stuff?" I wrinkled my nose. Alia smiled.

"It's an iodine solution." She said, "It's an antiseptic."

Alia taped a long piece of gauze to my arm while Carlisle cleaned up the kitchen. I looked towards the kitchen door.

"You were pretty harsh to Edward," I noted, quietly. Alia, who was washing her hands, look at me, guiltily.

"Yeah," She said, "He's told me that he still has a hard time around you. I was afraid he'd snap with; you know."

I looked down. I did know. I looked up and watched as Carlisle took his turn washing his hands.

"How come you were ok with Carlisle?" I asked. Alia leaned against the table next to me.

"My mom works with him," She said, "He's so good with blood that she didn't even know he was a vampire until a few months ago."

"That's actually pretty impressive!" I said, "How do you manage?"

"Years and years of practice," He told us. "I barely notice the scent anymore."

"You must really love your job," I mused.

Carlisle smiled, "Yes, I do. I've loved my job for over a hundred years." He looked at his watch. "I suppose you should go home now."

"I guess," Alia said.

"Can I come?" Edward's voice called out. He came through the dim dining room, walking slowly for him. There was something wrong with his eyes – something he was trying to hide. The scariest part was that I recognized that look. I used to have that look when I looked at myself in the mirror.

"Are you ok?" Alia asked, rushing up to him.

"I think so," Edward sounded unsure.

"I'm sorry for getting so nasty," Alia apologized. She stretched up an planted a kiss on his cheek. Even though Alia was my girlfriend, she sometimes got a little romantic with Edward. It was a love triangle system we were trying out, and it was still relatively new. It made me feel weird, but I didn't feel jealous.

"Hey," Edward said to me, "I'm going to get you a new shirt. You'll give Charlie a heart attack looking the way you do."

I looked down at my shirt; it had been splattered in my blood. Edward strode out of the kitchen again, leaving Alia behind.

I looked at Carlisle anxiously. "He's very upset."

"Yes," Carlisle agreed. "Tonight is exactly the kind of thing that he fears the most. You two being put in danger, because of what we are."

"I think I know how he feels," I said.

"Huh?" Alia asked.

"That look in his eyes," I continued, "he has a deep disconnect with what he is and what he feels he is," I looked up, "he's suffering from dysphoria."

The thought lingered in the air for a moment.

Alia turned to leave, and I got up to follow her into the main room. Esme had come back; she was mopping the floor where I'd fallen – with straight bleach from the smell of it.

"Geeze, I'm sorry for the mess." I felt my face turning bright red again.

"It's not your fault, dear." She smiled up at me. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good," I held up my arm, "I have my own emergency room with me. Hot nurse and doctor included."

Everyone chuckled.

Edward returned with a shirt that closely matched my own. He tossed it to me and watched pensively as I removed my shirt and put his on.

"I got your things." Alia chimed. She was her back to her bubbly carefree self.

Esme, Carlisle, and Alice said goodnight to me. They all stole quick glances at Edward.

It was a relief to be outside. The three of us slowly made our way back to my truck. We got inside in silence.

On the dashboard was a big red ribbon, stuck to the new stereo. No one turned it on, and the silence was intensified by the sudden thunder of the engine. Edward drove too fast down the dark, serpentine lane.

The silence became unbearable.

"Do you want to talk about?" I said as he turned onto the freeway.

"What do you want me to say?" Edward asked in a detached voice.

"You should know that out of everyone you could talk to, I'd understand you the most." I pointed out. Edward glanced at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I know how you feel," I said.

"How would you know?" He snapped at me.

"Edward!" Alia gasped.

"How would you know how it feels to be a monster?" Edward ranted, "How would you know how it feels to put everyone around you in danger, how it feels not to be able to do normal things like throwing a f***ing birthday party? How would-"

"How would I know how it feels to be 'wrong' just by being who I am?" I cut him off. "Oh yeah, I have no experience with wanting to be who I feel I am when all anyone can see is the outside package. I have no clue what it feels like to hate myself and what I am. What was I thinking? I don't know what dysphoria is."

Edward stayed silent.

There was a long pause.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"S'ok," I muttered, "I think we're all tired."

There was nothing else to say. So, we drove the rest of the way in silence. We eventually pulled up in front of my house.

Edward killed the engine, but his hands stayed clenched around the steering wheel.

"Damn," He said.

"What?" I asked.

"There was one more gift I wanted to show you."

"What?!" Alia piped, "You're not seriously talking about Edith, are you?"

"Your girlfriend?" I asked, super confused.

"There's no way you're doing that without me there," Alia said.

I realized that these two had a secret between them that I was just now learning about.


	4. Feelings

I felt pretty crappy in the morning. I hadn't slept well; my arm burned, and my head ached. It didn't help that my curiosity had gotten the best of me. Yesterday I had learned that Alia and Edward had a secret between them that Edward was nervous about. I realized that this must have been how Alia felt when Edward and I had kept me being trans between us. I had spent most of the night speculating on what this secret could be. Could Edward be trans, like me? Was this related to his negative feeling towards being a vampire?

With everything that happened yesterday, Alia and Edward had decided that it wasn't the right time to reveal "Edith." Who was Edith? The topic made Edward very anxious, and I wasn't sure what that meant.

Alia and Edward were waiting for me at school, as usual, but Edward's face was still wrong. It pained me to see Edward go through this. I didn't know what he could do to alleviate his hurt.

"How do you feel?" Edward asked me as I got out of my car.

"Super." I lied, cringing at the sound of my slamming door.

"Sure hope you don't have a headache," Alia said tentatively. And indeed, the metal detector screech did not help my headache.

The morning passed slowly. Edward was aloof during the whole thing. Occasionally he would ask about my arm, and I would lie. Alia asked if I had changed the bandages. I lied to her too. Though I don't think she believed me.

I noticed that Alice wasn't in school, and I wondered if she was running late. However, I knew she wasn't at school at all when she didn't join us for lunch.

Edward didn't say anything about her absence, so I brought it up.

"Hey, where's Alice?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"She's with Jasper," He answered unenthusiastically.

"Oh." I nodded.

"Is he ok?" Alia asked. She was definantely Edward's girl for today. We were sitting with Edward sandwiched between us, and she had her arm wrapped around his.

"He's gone away for a while."

"What, where?" I asked.

Edward didn't answer. "Is your arm bothering you?" He asked, solicitously.

"Huh?" I looked at my arm, "Yeah. It hurts like a b*tch, is that what you want to hear?"

He didn't answer. Alia put her hand on my good arm.

"Promise me you'll change that tonight," She said quietly, "Please?"

I promised.

By the end of the day, the silence was becoming ridiculous. It had even dampened Alia's mood, and that's no small feat. I didn't want to force him to talk to me, but I was worried that his ruminating could lead him down a spiral path of self-hate.

"Hey," I said as we walked to my truck, "You know you can talk to me about… stuff." I wasn't too sure how to articulate my thoughts.

"What sort of stuff?"

"All sorts of stuff," Alia said, and she winked. 'All sorts of stuff' had been our secret code for topics of discussion that only the three of us were privy to. Alia had first used it when she wanted to talk to me about vampires, I think.

"Oh," Edward said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Did you want to do the 'Edith' thing tonight?" Alia asked. Wait, 'do the Edith thing?'

"Who is Edith?" I asked.

"I'm Edith," Edward muttered, sounding annoyed.

"What?" I was caught off guard. "Woah!" I switched to a whisper. "Are you transitioning too?"

"Uh, no," Edward said, flustered.

"Hey," Alia cut in, "Let's finish this conversation somewhere private?"

"Sure," I realized I was a bit inconsiderate. I pulled out my phone and texted my dad.

"What are you doing?" Alia asked.

"I'm texting my dad and telling him that we're going to take a walk in the forest near our house."

"Cool," Alia said, "We'll meet you there. We drove in today."

We nodded and parted ways.

As I drove home, I began to go over the entire situation. So, if you didn't know by now, Edward was a vampire, and Alia's family hunted vampires. The three of us were stuck in a love triangle. Alia had romantic feelings for both Edward and me, and he liked Alia and me. I was the only one who only had romantic feelings for one of my friends, Alia. It made me feel bad for Edward since it had become apparent that I drove him crazy the way Alia drove me crazy. And while I cared for Edward deeply, I wasn't attracted to him.

On top of all this, yesterday had shown me that Edward was struggling with what I've decided to call 'species dysphoria.' Who knows how long he'd been dealing with it? I didn't know how you could even start to fix that.

I turned onto my street and went to sit on a rock near the forest. I could see my house from there. The dread I felt when neither a red or silver car drove by after ten minutes was whelming and concerning.

I began to worry that, maybe, Alia and Edward wouldn't show up at all. Then I saw Alia's little red Jetta quickly pull up into my driveway. I shot up.

"Sorry we're late!" Alia called as she rushed to open the passenger door, "I got caught up at home."

"I thought you guys weren't coming," I called back.

"We'd never do that," Alia said as she and Edward walked up to me.

The three of us walked into the forest. We remained silent for a while. Alia lagged behind us, looking at her phone. She seemed to be tuned out.

"Alia?" I asked.

"Pretend I'm not here." She said, cheekily grinning at me before turning her attention back to her phone.

"Uh, ok," I mumbled. I turned to Edward, who was walking next to me.

"So, what did you want to show me yesterday?" I asked.

"It's just some dumb thing vampires can do," He said glumly. "I wanted to try something out, but now I don't want to think about it."

"Oh," I said. I looked at him. His close proximity let me know that his feelings were very muddled and mostly negative. "Edward, what are you thinking?"

Edward stopped and looked at me.

"Would it be better for you if I left?" He asked. I felt a pang in my chest. I didn't want him out of my life, but I did have to admit being around him was hazardous.

"I don't know," I said carefully, "But I think having you in my life is worth the risk."

"My family is talking about moving," Edward said.

"Oh," I mused, "Is it a sure thing?"

"Not yet," Edward said, "It's just; I'm not good for you two."

I didn't know what to say to this. I knew saying that he _was_ good for us wouldn't help. I wanted to comfort him, though.

"I like having you around," I said simply. I felt that was a little inadequate. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Edward sighed but kept silent.

"Do you want to talk about Edith?" I asked hesitantly. Edward looked away, self-conscious.

"It would be dumb to after last night." He muttered.

"Huh?" I said, "You mean that two-second argument we had?"

Edward looked up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I feel like it would confuse you."

"What if it doesn't?" I asked. Edward looked at me.

"There's one thing I wanted to try before I voted on staying or leaving," He whispered.

I could feel his emotions rising up, and it made me uncomfortable.

"Hey - - -" I started.

"If you're going to do it," Alia said dolefully, "now is the time."

Edward and I turned to her. She seemed mellow.

Edward sighed loudly. "It's too early. You know that."

"Right," Alia said, "I guess we'll have to come back at eight then." I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but our discussion felt incomplete, and I had a feeling that if we parted ways, it would stay that way.

"Maybe you can come over for dinner." I offered.

Alia smiled, "I'll text my parents."


	5. Edith

I waited until we were through the front door before calling out.

"Dad?"

As I spoke, I heard the distinctive theme music from ESPN's SportsCenter coming from the living room.

"I'm here," Charlie called.

We hung our coats up in the closet and peeked around the corner.

My father was on the sofa focusing on the papers in front of him. The TV was just on for noise. He and the police were trying to find and catch Zhi. They didn't know how dangerous she was; they thought she was a random terrorist.

"Hey, would you mind if Alia and Edward stayed over for dinner?" I asked.

Charlie's head snapped up. He regarded us cautiously.

"All we have is leftover pizza from last night," He said.

"That's ok," I said, "We didn't eat that much of it. And I can always make something."

Charlie nodded, "Don't get into too much trouble."

"Don't worry," I said.

"Edward, make yourself at home," Alia ordered, "Jack, you, me, bathroom, now."

Charlie looked back up, alarmed. "What?"

"Did you know your son didn't change his bandages?" Alia exclaimed. I blushed.

"I said that I was going to do it!" I defended myself.

"Yeah," Alia rolled her eyes, "And you totally didn't have a headache this morning too."

Well, I couldn't recover from that one, so we went up to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet lid while Alia treated me. She pulled out a box from her purse. In it were fresh gauze, an opaque spray bottle, and tape.

"I see what held you up," I said softly, a gentle smile forming on my lips as I watched her wash her hands with soap.

"You and Ed were in a funk all day," She said as she carefully removed my old bandage. "Someone had to keep it together." I bit my lip when she sprayed it with what I assume was a disinfectant; it really stung. Alia used a Q-tip to spread a clear gel over my stitches.

"Ouch!" I hissed on instict.

"Sorry," Alia muttered in concentration. She applied the fresh gauze and finished up.

"There, let's go back down," She said, packing up her stuff. Before she could make it to the door, I grabbed her arm and pulled her close to me. I caressed her face with my other hand and kissed her with passion.

"Thank you," I whispered, "You're a lifesaver."

Simultaneously very flustered and very flattered, Alia's cheeks blushed a deep red. She looked down humbly then she kissed me back.

When we returned downstairs, Edward was in the armchair, his eyes trained on the TV. This sort of focus was unusual for Edward. I stared at them. An icy feeling building up in my chest.

Suddenly I felt tingling in my stomach. Like a giggle being suppressed. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. That sort of feeling didn't really match the dread that had been building. Something in my peripheral caught my attention. It was Alia; she had my camera and was inching closer to the living room. She had a massive grin on her face, she was definitely holding in gales of laughter.

"What are y- - -?" Before I could finish, Alia snapped a picture.

Edward and my dad both looked at us then. Charlie frowned. Edward's face was mildly surprised.

"What are you doing?" Charlie complained.

"I – I didn't hear you come in." Edward breathed.

"This camera needs to be used, besides you're both so handsome," Alia laughed, "I can see where Jack gets his good looks!"

Charlie covered up his papers. "You didn't get any of the papers, did you?"

"Nope!" Alia giggled, "Just your heads." She turned to me. "We should get one with us in it."

We all took turns taking each other's pictures. We mostly took goofy pictures, even Charlie got into it. Edward tried to be pleasant, but I could tell he was faking.

"Hey, it's eight." Alia pointed out. We all looked at her, "We should study." She said as she looked at the stairs.

"Everyone needs to go home at nine," Charlie said. We nodded.

Once we were in my room, Alia locked the door, pulled my comforter off my bed, and sat in the corner. She pulled out her phone, signaling that we should pretend like she wasn't there.

With my heart pulsing in my throat, I turned to Edward. He was sitting on the bed with his arms crossed.

"What did you want to try?" I asked. Edward looked at me.

There was a long pause.

"I don't know how to explain it," He said.

"That's ok. I can wait," I said gently. I went and sat at the foot of my bed.

"Maybe you should just show him," Alia said casually. We glanced at her. She hadn't looked up from her phone, but she sure looked comfy bundled up in my comforter.

"Edward?" I turned back to him.

He sighed, then he covered his face. Suddenly, his form rippled like his insides had lost all solidity. I jerked back as his body warped, alarmed. Whatever was happening sounded painful.

When he looked up again, his appearance was different. He had, for lack of a better description, gender-swapped. This is how he'd look if he had been a cis woman.

"Uh… ok?" I finally said, "What is this? What are… you?"

"Vampires are shapeshifters," Edward said, (even his voice was different) "but only at night."

"I – well – yeah – But I meant," I stuttered, "I'm not sure what this means though. Do I call you Edith now?"

"Only when I look like this." Edward – uh, Edith – said.

"So, you _are_ trans?" I asked bluntly.

"Well, when it comes to gender, I'd consider myself neither gender." Edith shrugged, "But I wanted to see what you thought about this." She (he?) gestured to… themselves.

"What pronouns do you use?" I asked.

Edith swept some of her long russet hair from her face. "I discussed it with Alia, and I think it's easiest to use the pronouns that match the body."

I nodded, trying to keep everything in order.

"This is a lot to take in," I steepled my fingers, "I'm not sure what you wanted to accomplish?"

"I told there was one thing I wanted to try before deciding on whether I should stay or not," Edith said.

I suddenly saw where this was going and felt like a dumbass. Since it was well established that I wasn't into boys, Edward thought it would be easier for me to accept him as a romantic partner if he was a she. I tried to wrap my mind around that. On one hand, a part of me still saw Edith as Edward; on the other hand, another part chastised me for being a hypocrite. Regarding Edith as male was precisely the wrong thing to do.

I stared at Edith. She looked so uncertain and tired. I looked at her and repeated: _Edith is a girl; Edith is a girl; Edith is a girl_. Over and over in my head. I closed my eyes and imagined past events with Edith there instead of Edward. Edith at school, Edith in the truck, Edith smirking at me, Edith looking confused when asked how she took ice cream…

"Jack?" Edith asked. I opened my eyes.

"You're really pretty." I blurted, like the dumbass I was. Edith looked taken aback, and if she could have, I'm sure she would have blushed.

"Oh, thank you." She breathed. She leaned forward slowly, regarding me with her deep brown eyes. I took a deep breath and closed the distance between us.

What neither of us was prepared for was my response. Blood boiled under my skin, burning in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. I leaned into it.

We broke apart, somehow both breathless. Edith's eyes were wild, her lips slightly parted. She looked so vulnerable. I felt passion bloom in my stomach.

I impulsively kissed her again. I wrapped my arms around her. Her fingers knotted in my hair, clutching me to her. The lust between us rose higher and higher.

It was different from kissing Alia. Edith's lips were less malleable, and they were cold. Her body was inflexible and cold as well. It brought out a different form of arousal in me.

I shivered as one of Edith's hands slipped under my shirt and ran across my shoulder. Our lips parted as she traced my scar with a finger.

Edith paused.

"You ok?" I panted, looking into her eyes. They had turned a deep onyx


	6. The End

Edith glared at me with her deep onyx eyes, and I knew what she wanted. I could feel the burn in my throat and the blood lust in my heart.

I tried to edge away from her, but she had an arm wrapped around me. Her grip was like iron. As violent urges ripped through me, I strained against her. Through my struggles, my shoulder began to protest.

"Edith," I hissed, surprised at the venom in my voice, "You're hurting me." Just then, my shoulder popped. It wasn't a sprain or a break, the joint had just popped. However, this was the first time my shoulder had popped in its new metal frame, and it wasn't pleasant.

"Ouch!" I gasped.

Suddenly, Alia was next to me. She had her spray bottle in her hand. The spray bottle with holy water in it.

"Edward," Alia said sternly, "Wait for us in the car."

A growl slowly built in Edith's throat.

"Don't make me spray you, man!" Alia raised her voice. They glared at each other. Once again, I could feel the world around me slow down. My head was split with the feelings of fear and defensive determination competing against the thirst for blood and death.

When Edith's grip loosened on me, the world snapped back to normal. I slipped down onto the floor, paralyzed by conflicting emotions.

Edith flashed to the door and morphed back into Edward. He glared at us, then left.

"I'm sorry," Alia said, "I thought he could handle it." She covered her face and shook her head. I stared at her. I somehow knew how she was feeling. She was ashamed that she miscalculated and put me in danger.

"Alia," I whispered, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

She looked up; her delicate lips turned into a frown. I felt worse like that statement was wrong; like it was entirely my fault. Wait, I mean Alia felt like that.

I was feeling her emotions like I could feel Edward's thirst when he was in my headspace.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Alia said, getting up. "I need to drive Ed home."

I didn't know how to bring up this new revelation at the moment, so I just said, "Yeah, yeah." And walked with her downstairs.

Charlie was in the living room. He looked up at us and nodded as we headed to the door. Alia looked at me as she left.

"Bye, Jack," She said.

_Now's your chance, Jack_. I told myself.

"Bye," I replied.

* * *

Edward didn't come to school the next day.

That Saturday, Alia and I went to his house to see if he was alright only to find the house stripped and abandoned. We were only able to hang out together, worrying about Edward for about an hour before Alia was called away by her family and unavailable for the rest of the weekend.

Edward didn't answer any of my messages, and he didn't pick up when I called. I spent the rest of my weekend ruminating and working on homework.

On the following Monday, we learned that the Cullens had moved suddenly and unexpectedly. It broke Alia's heart that he hadn't even said goodbye to us. I found it challenging to organize my own feelings because Alia's were so loud.

However, when I was in class, away from her, I began to feel guilt. I realized that I had spent a lot of the past year really getting to know Alia while just allowing Edward to be in my life. Since I had grown to care about him, I had started to want to learn about him. The day of my birthday had shown me a side of him I had never seen. The day Edith appeared, I wanted to learn more about Edward/Edith. Not just because Edith was very attractive, but because I knew I hadn't been a good friend to her/him. I had become prepared to let him open up and talk to me.

Now that couldn't happen.

And, a few days after that horrid Monday, it got even worse.

* * *

"You're moving?" I exclaimed.

"My dad got a new assignment," Alia said quietly, "This was my last week."

I took a deep breath and leaned against my truck. The combination of our emotions was getting muddled in my head. I rubbed my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wasn't allowed to," Alia said, "The nature of my dad's job meant we have to keep it a secret."

I could feel empathetic tears form in my eyes. My eyes snapped open, and I turned to her. She was trying to hold back her tears. It wasn't working.

"We won't be able to keep in touch," my voice wavered, "will we?"

"No," Alia said, "We won't."

Alia didn't have much when it came to social media. Without texting, we wouldn't be able to communicate at all.

I sighed. I couldn't believe all this was happening at once. I could manage Edward's absence with Alia's help, but now that she was leaving too…

"Hey," I said. When Alia looked up, I embraced her.

"Jack," She moaned into my shoulder, "I'm going to miss you!"

"I'm going to miss you too."

We stood next to my car, both crying and not caring who stared at us at the end of the school day.

"I love you," Alia whispered after a long while.

"I know," I whispered back, "I can feel it." I cringed, this was probably not the time to bring up my empathic powers.

Alia stayed quiet for a beat, then she peeked up at me.

"Was that a Star Wars reference or are you reading me?" She asked. I hesitated, and I couldn't help but smile. Alia was always able to switch topics on a dime, and she always took the craziness around her seriously. I also liked the terminology Alia used. Similar to how Edward could hear someone, I could read someone.

"I'm reading you," I admitted. Alia rested her head against my shoulder.

"That's pretty cool," She said, "Can you hear my thoughts?"

"No," I said, "I can only feel your feelings."

Alia sighed.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to explore your new skills with you." She said.

"I love you too," I told her.

* * *

When I got home, I went to my room and lay on my bed. I felt hollow and empty. I had spent all my tears at school, now I was just vacant.

Alia and Edward were gone.


	7. October

I spent a lot of time to myself. My friends tried to engage with me, but I didn't want to waste energy on them.

Teddy was very supportive. He frequently hung out with me in silence, consoling me with his presence.

He invited me to his birthday party. I meant to buy him a gift, but I eventually ran out of time, and I ended up bringing him a card I printed off at home.


	8. November

I tried to help my dad make a Thanks Giving dinner. But our dietary differences eventually drove us to just eat out.


	9. December

We all excitedly prepared for Christmas. I remember that I was able to act like I wasn't heartbroken all the time, but I don't remember much of what happened.


	10. Waking Up

Charlie came downstairs and plopped my camera on the kitchen table in front of me.

I looked up from my cereal and stared at Charlie. He had a look of discontent on his face.

"What's this?" I mumbled, confused.

"Your camera," He said.

"Ok," I rolled my eyes, "I know that. Why did you bring it down?"

"Your mother has been emailing you and me about it," Charlie said, "She says you haven't sent her any pictures you took with this."

I sighed. I hadn't wanted to look at the pictures on the camera since Alia and Edward left. I feel like seeing us together would be too much for me. I glanced up at my dad.

He looked concerned.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't do anything," Charlie sighed. "It's concerning."

I frowned. I didn't think that was nice to say. My grades were perfect, I still made dinner, and I never broke curfew. The only annoying thing about me was how I always set off the metal detector coming and leaving school.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, "Do drugs and break rules?"

"Of course not!" Charlie exclaimed, "I want you to stop moping around."

I scrunched my face up. I had been trying very hard to avoid all forms of moroseness.

"Moping? Really?"

"Wrong word," Charlie grudgingly conceded, "But you have no life! You don't hang out with friends anymore!"

"That's not true," I said, "There was that Christmas party, and I'm constantly with Teddy."

"You're always home by four." Charlie pointed out.

"I thought you didn't want me out late because of Zhi," I muttered.

"Your curfew is nine, not four!" Charlie burst out. I rubbed my temples.

"Look, Dad," I sighed, "Today was my T-day, so my butt is sore, my head is sore, my heart is sore." Charlie looked down. "Can we talk later?"

"Jack, you're so miserable here," Charlie said, "maybe you should move back with your mother."

A light suddenly dawned on me.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, startling him, "You're right!"

"I am?" Charlie said quietly.

"I need to talk to mom!" I shot up and got my phone. I started checking plane schedules. March Break was coming up, and if I planned it right, I could visit her and learn more about my heritage.

I felt my heart heave against my ribcage. I paused and examined my feelings. I felt sad, inadequate, and in over my head. I turned to my dad and saw the hurt on his face. I bit my lip guiltily.

I'd been getting glimpses of other people's emotions at random intervals over the past few months. They never lasted long, and they often came out of the blue. Right now, I was tuning in to my father's feelings. I realized that my response must have made him think I was moving back to Phoenix permanently.

"Don't worry, Dad," I said softly, "I'm only going to visit her during March Break. My home is here."

Relief rushed into me from Charlie; then my power switched off again.

"Oh," He said.

I closed my phone; I'd wait until later to purchase my ticket.

"I got to go to school now, Dad," I said as I packed up my stuff. "I'll text you if I make any plans tonight."

"Yes." He said.

Time moved easily while I was in school. The end of the day came swiftly at the end of Spanish class. I turned to Teddy.

"Hey, Teddy," I said.

He looked at me. "Yeah, man?"

"Do you want to hit up a movie tonight?"

Teddy eyed me suspiciously. "Why?"

I looked up in confusion. I didn't know why Teddy was acting this way.

"Because I want to see a movie with a buddy," I said, "and you're my buddy."

Teddy's face relaxed. "Oh, I see! What did you want to see?"

"I don't know what's playing," I admitted. Teddy smiled.

"Let's see." He said. We walked out of class engrossed in our options.

"Stop." A voice commanded us. Teddy and I stopped abruptly. The guard who was next to the metal detector had stopped us as well as a group of people. He moved to his station and hit a button. He looked at me.

"Ok. You and only you," He spoke to me directly, "walk through." I awkwardly shuffled through the government-mandated doorway. The hallway remained silent. The guard pressed the button again.

"Proceed."

Everyone walked through as normally as they could, passing their bags through the x-ray section.

"Wow," Teddy said when he caught up to me, "That was something."

"Yeah." I guess they finally got tired of all that wailing.

When we got to my truck, Teddy hesitated.

"What?" I asked.

"Would you mind if I picked you up at your place?" Teddy asked, "No offense, but I don't want you to bring that clunker to the movies."

"Much offense taken!" I said, trying to sound light-hearted. Teddy grinned at my efforts.

"Alright," I ran my fingers through my hair, "I'll see you later."

"Not by much," Teddy said, "I'm going to follow your truck."

When I got home, I sent a quick text to my dad and then got into Teddy's car. We drove in silence while I looked up movies on my phone.

"So, what brought this on?" Teddy asked.

"Oh, uh…" I muttered distractedly, "I wanted a change."

"Cool." Teddy nodded.

We got tickets to a zombie movie at the theater. We were about to go into our showing when I literally bumped into an old friend.

"Jacob?" I blurted. Jacob turned to me and smiled.

"Jack? Teddy?" Jacob called out, "Hey!"

"Whoa, man!" Teddy exclaimed, "Funny running into you here!"

"Yeah, I came here for a date," Jacob said nervously.

"Oh, where is she?" I asked as I looked around. Jacob sagged.

"Oh, she never showed." I frowned and turned back to him.

"Oh." I could feel my powers slowly turning on. I hugged myself aggressively; I did not want to feel Jacob's heartbreak.

"Dude, that sucks." Teddy sympathized, then he noticed me. "Yo! You ok, Jack?"

"I'm cold! That's all." I lied loudly.

"Which movie are you guys seeing?" Jacob asked.

"Oh…" Teddy and Jacob started talking to each other. I stopped paying attention. My hugging notion had slowed my mind bubble, but it still yearned to expand. I had never tried to stop my powers before, and it was difficult to tame.

"Jack?"

My eyes snapped open. The sudden distraction pushed my mind bubble back to normal. I hesitated then brought my full attention to my friends.

"Do you want to call it quits?" Teddy asked.

"Huh? No." I said, "I'm just cold."

Teddy didn't look convinced, but he didn't press the matter. He turned to Jacob, who was looking at me.

"Uh, would you mind if I joined you?" Jacob asked. Teddy glanced at me. Apparently, Jacob was repeating himself.

"N - no!" I stammered, "You can totally join us!"

"Great!" Jacob grinned.

Being in a movie with Jacob and Teddy reminded me of the time I went with Alia and Edward. It was different, obviously. Jacob and Teddy were very quiet while they watched, and I found myself missing Alia's commentary. The movie was surprisingly dull without it. I watched as the main character promised his lady love that he'd never let anything happen to her right before she left to go home on her own.

"I wonder how long it'll be until she gets kidnapped," I whispered. Teddy glanced at me, but he was focused on the movie. Jacob grinned, but he didn't say anything. It was very unsatisfying, and with that, I mentally checked out from the film. I leaned back in my seat and aimed my face at the screen.

Eventually, the boredom was too much, and I took out my phone and started playing a mobile game on it.

"Dude, not cool," Teddy hissed at me. I sighed and pocketed my phone.

It wasn't long before I was itching to get back on my phone, so I turned to my friends and whispered, "I got to use the washroom." Teddy nodded.

I then sat on a bench near the theaters and continued my game. I was leveling up pretty well, and I became so engaged that I got startled when Teddy and Jacob came up to me.

"That must have been one long-ass leak." He noted. I looked up.

"Oh!" I said meekly, "I lost track of time."

"Why'd you even come to the movies if you didn't want to see a movie?" Teddy inquired. I looked down.

"I did want to see a movie," I muttered, "This one was sort of boring."

Teddy smiled, "yeah, it was sort of cheesy."

"Where do you want to eat?" Jacob piped. Teddy looked at me, unsure.

"Not sure," I said, "Any suggestions?"

Teddy smiled then turned to Jacob.

"Yeah, man. Where do you want to eat?"

Jacob thought for a bit. "Oh! I know a great place. Come on!"


	11. Mind Bubble

I lagged slightly behind Teddy and Jacob as we walked. I tried to pay attention to our conversation, but they were mostly talking about the movie. Since I hadn't really watched it, I wasn't able to participate. There was an ease between my buddies. I began to wonder if Teddy and Jacob hung out outside of school.

I wasn't watching where we were walking, but I suddenly became alert. I had to stop and look around.

We were on a short stretch of unlit sidewalk. Half a block ahead, the streetlights started up again, and I could see bright golden arches of the McDonald's we were walking towards.

Across the street, there was a bar. It had a big green neon sign announcing its name as One-Eyed Pete's. I didn't understand why, but I felt drawn to it. It seemed like a senseless impulse. I started to walk towards it.

"Jack?" Teddy asked

"Something's wrong," I breathed.

"You can't go into that bar." Jacob grabbed my arm. I started. I was halfway across the street. I frowned. What was I doing?

"Right," I muttered, shaking my head, "Right."

Teddy had stayed on the sidewalk. He was looking at us, hands in his pockets. I rubbed my temples and followed Jacob back to the pavement. The urge to go into the bar was still there, but I tried to suppress it.

Suddenly, there was a crash from inside the bar. I spun around towards the sound. I watched as a couple of men shoved a third guy out and retreated into the establishment. The man staggered and slumped to the ground. He was not ok.

"Jack!" someone called. I ignored them as I rushed over to him.

"Errza." The man slurred when I got to him. As I kneeled down towards him, I could tell that he wasn't too much older than me. My powers turned on at full force, and my mind bubble instinctively began to stretch out. He needed help.

"What are you doing?" Jacob asked me.

"Something's wrong with him," I answered.

"He's drunk," Teddy said. I flinched; I hadn't noticed him come over. He was annoyed at me. I frowned and returned my focus to the semi-conscious man. I had an understanding of this guy's system. He definitely wasn't drunk

"I don't think he's drunk," I said. Teddy and Jacob looked at me, confused.

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked. I lifted up the guy's face to inspect him and shivered. I could feel physical weakness, clammy skin, a mind that was fogged up, and a need for something sweet.

"I think he's got low blood sugar," I said.

"How could you possibly know that?" Teddy exclaimed. Jacob said nothing as he shifted his gaze between us.

"I'll go get some ice cream," Jacob said, then he took off.

Teddy followed Jacob with his eyes. "What the heck?"

"Sir?" I asked the man. "Do you know where you are?"

The man tried to look at me, but his focus was off. He closed his eyes and began to faint. I was scared that he was going to die. Can you die from low blood sugar?

"Shit," Teddy muttered.

"Hey!" I said, "Stay awake."

"Should I call an ambulance?" Teddy asked.

"Oh, please don't die," I urged.

Slowly, a prickling sensation rippled over my skin. I closed my eyes and shivered. It felt like something was being pulled out of me. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed my focus was off. I felt queasy and lightheaded. I closed my eyes again.

"Where am I?"

"You're outside of a bar, man."

"Who are you?"

"I got the ice cream!"

Everyone was talking around me, but I couldn't keep track of who was talking.

"Jack, do you need some ice cream too?" Jacob's voice cut in. He didn't give me much time to answer as very shortly after, the vanilla dessert was being shoved in my face.

After what felt like hours, but was actually a few minutes, my faculties began to bounce back. I became aware that, like the guy who had fainted, I was propped up against the wall. From the looks of it, our new buddy was fully cognitive, as well.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You were right," Teddy said, "This guy, Cameron, fainted from hypoglycemia."

I looked over at Cameron. He was sitting next to me in a relaxed pose. He was looking at me with an odd look on his face. Though sluggish, my powers were picking up on discomfort from him.

"It's weird," Cameron said, "I actually started to feel better before your friend came by with the ice cream."

"How does a dude your age get hypoglycemia?" Teddy asked, "Isn't that like, an old person disease?"

Cameron frowned, and I understood where the discomfort was coming from. I recognized it, and it clicked for me.

"I'm a type one diabetic," Cameron said grudgingly, "If I don't eat enough, my blood sugar can get too low."

"You're really pretty." I blurted like I had with Edith.

Teddy and Jacob looked at me, very concerned.

"Give him some more ice cream," Teddy told Jacob.

Cameron knew what I meant, though, and she looked away, embarrassed.

"Thanks for the ice cream but, I've got to go back in," she said, "My friend was in there. I'm her designated driver."

Cameron slowly stood up and walked into the bar while Teddy and Jacob tried to force-feed me what was left of the ice cream.

By the time we got to McDonald's, I wasn't in the mood for food anymore. Teddy and Jacob both got takeout, and then we headed back to the theater parking lot where we had left our cars. We bid goodbye to Jacob and got in the car.

"That was really weird," Teddy noted. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded.

"You're really odd, Jack," Teddy continued, "It's like I don't really know who you are."

My thoughts were too muddled to keep up a coherent conversation. My new powers had appeared right after the incident last year. I feel like I hadn't really been taking them seriously, but after today, I realized that this was an intrinsic part of me. It hadn't just popped up after the incident, it had been awakened. I mean, that makes sense if it's been here since I was born but, you know what I mean. Now that it was awake, there was no way to go back to who or what I was before I met Edward.

The silence must have become too much for Teddy to bare because he tuned the stereo to his favorite channel and turned the volume too loud to allow easy conversation.

I sighed. I knew I had been trying to forget about Alia and Edward, trying to mend my broken heart on my own. But my feelings for them were still here and confusing. My last interaction with Edward/Edith still confused me. In retrospect, I began to wonder if the lust I had felt that night was mine or Edith's. I was just now beginning to realize just how much another person's emotions can override mine if they're strong enough. It scared me. How would I be able to tell whose passion I was feeling?

I was surprised when Teddy stopped the car in front of my house.

"Thanks for hanging with me today, man," I said as I opened my door. "It was … fun." I hoped fun was the right word to use.

"Sure," he muttered. He was emotionally drained, putting up with me for the past few months had tired him out. This realization, through my mind bubble, stung as I knew it was the truth.

"I'm sorry about… after the movie," I tried.

"Whatever, dude," Teddy slumped. He was getting more annoyed. Though it wasn't all directed at me, I wasn't helping.

I gave up and shut the door. He drove away.

Charlie was waiting for me in the middle of the hall, his arms folded tight over his chest with his hands balled into fists. He had been worried sick. Now that he was relieved, he needed some catharsis.

"Hey, Dad," I said, meekly, stopping in front of him.

"Where have you been?" Charlie demanded.

I sighed. Now I couldn't turn my power off. "I went to a movie with Teddy, didn't you get my text?"

"Humph," He grunted. Evidentially, he had received it. "Yeah, I did. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," I said. "We watched zombies eat people."

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to bed now, Dad."

He let me pass, and I went up to my room. As I flopped down on my bed, one of my arms bumped the side of my dresser, and something fell on to the floor with a clatter. I peeked over at it.

It was a small square package decorated with birthday-themed wrapping paper. I picked it up and swallowed the lump in my throat. I had been purposely avoiding opening this so, I don't know why I did this. I slipped my finger under the edge, it still had blood stains from my paper cut, and gently unwrapped the gift.

Inside was a clear CD jewel case with a colorful disc inside.

I took the disc out and put it in the CD player I had in the corner of my room.

…

"Happy birthday, Jack!" Alia's voice chimed from the speakers. It sent a pang pain that radiated from my heart to the rest of my body.

"We didn't want to get you something that any old Joe could get their hands on," She continued.

"So we recorded something special for you," Edward's voice sounded happy.

Feelings welled up inside me. I sat on my bed and cried as I listened to music my friends had written just for me.


	12. Rebel

I was in my room by myself. I was supposed to be doing homework, but it was relatively easy, and I desperately needed to talk to someone.

Now that I had given up trying to forget Alia and Edward, I found it easier to deal with life. I realized that even though I'd been trying to pretend to be fine, I had inadvertently been pushing away my friends. No wonder Teddy was so annoyed with me. But now I was ready to reach out to others.

Who could I talk to, though?

Most of the things I wanted to get out of my system would get me committed if I discussed it with the wrong person. My usual gang was gone, but I realized there was someone I could talk to. I wasn't sure how much he knew, but I figured I could trust him.

I pulled out my cellphone to call my dad.

"Chief Swan, please," I said when the deputy answered. "It's Jack."

"Oh, hey, Jack," Deputy Steve said affably. "I'll get him."

I waited.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Charlie demanded as soon as he picked up the phone. Yikes, he probably thought this was an emergency since I was calling him at work.

"Oh, sorry. It's not an emergency," I said, "I just wanted directions to the Black's place. I wanted to visit Jacob, but I can't remember where his house is."

When Charlie spoke again, his voice was much happier. "That's a great idea, Jack! Do you have a pen?"

"I just need his address for Google Maps."

He gave me the address and tried to tell me not to hurry. He must have wanted to join me in La Push, I didn't want that.

So, it was with a deadline that I drove too quickly through the storm-darkened streets out of town. I hoped I could get Jacob alone. I didn't want Billy knowing about me in case he tattled on me.

The Black's house was vaguely familiar, a small wooden place with narrow windows, the dull red paint making it resemble a tiny barn. Jacob's head peered out of the window before I could even get out of the truck. No doubt, the familiar roar of the engine had tipped him off to my approach, even through all the rain.

I trusted Jacob with my secrets because he had trusted me with his. Jacob and his family could turn into giant wolves. Like the Cullens, the Blacks kept this to themselves. I found out about their wolf powers during the school "event" that lead to my metal shoulder.

He met me halfway to the house.

"Jack!" His grin stretched wide across his face.

"Hey, Jacob. Long-time no see," I joked. Jacob laughed and went in for a hug.

We then engaged in an awkward game of Hug or Handshake. We ended up settling on a fist bump.

"Come inside," Jacob said, "You're getting all wet."

I followed him to his house.

"Hey, Dad," Jacob called as he ducked to get through the front door. "Look who stopped by."

Billy was in the tiny square living room, a book in his hands. He set the book in his lap and wheeled himself forward when he saw me.

"Well, what do you know! It's good to see you, Jack!"

We shook hands. Mine was lost in his wide grip.

"So," Bill said, "What brings you here? Is everything ok with Charlie?"

"Yes," I said, meekly, "I'm here to see Jacob. We ran into each other a few days ago, and I wanted to catch up with him since we didn't talk much."

Jacob nodded in agreement.

"Can you stay for dinner?" Billy asked, eagerly.

"No, I've got to feed Charlie, you know?"

"I'll call him now," Billy suggested, "He's always invited."

I laughed to hide my cringe. "Actually, uh… It's not like you'll never see me again. I mean, I'll be back before you know it! You'll get sick of me…" I could feel my efforts falling flatter than a pancake.

Billy chuckled in response. "Ok, maybe next time."

"So, Jack, what did you want to do?" Jacob asked.

"Whatever. What were you doing before I interrupted?" I asked, casually.

Jacob hesitated. "I was just heading out to work on a project. You wanna see?"

"Sure!" I exclaimed.

"Cool!" Jacob grinned, "See you later, Dad."

We waved at Billy as we left.

A thick stand of trees and shrubbery concealed his garage from the house. The garage was no more than a couple of big preformed sheds that had been bolted together with their interior walls knocked out. Under this shelter, propped up on cinder blocks, was a motorbike.

"What brand is this?" I asked.

"It's an old Harley Sprint. I bought it off some kids."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see if I could make it run again."

I cocked my head to the side. "How much do you know about motorbikes?"

He shrugged. "Some. Embry has been helping me with this since he has a dirt bike."

"Who?"

"Oh!" Jacob realized, "He lives around here. We're buddies."

"Right," I said. I suddenly felt nervous. I quietly watched Jacob as he fiddled with his bike. Jacob looked up at me, guiltily after a bit.

"Hey, did you want to talk about something?" He asked.

"Oh. I… Yeah." I stumbled over myself.

"Cool," Jacob said distractedly, he was focused on his bike. I inspected the bike. It looked pretty old.

"Sorry," Jacob said, poking up from behind his station. "You were saying?"

"Oh… Uh, yeah. Remember when we went to the movies?"

"Yeah," Jacob said, "When we met Cam at the bar?"

"Yeah," I nodded. I suddenly felt unsure about talking to Jacob about this. I turned my face away.

"Do you have a cool thing too?" Jacob asked. I looked at him. His eyes were bright with excitement. I blinked.

"A cool thing?" I mulled over.

"You know," Jacob said, "Edward was a vampire, Alia was a Helsing, I'm a shapeshifter, are you something too?"

I could feel myself blush. It hurt to hear my friends be spoken in the past tense.

"I, uh, well, uh, yes," I stuttered.

"Cool! What are you?" Jacob asked. All his attention was on me now.

"I don't know," I said, "I guess I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Sure!" Jacob grinned, "What can you do? Do you have powers?"

I took a deep breath. "Don't tell your dad, ok?"

Jacob nodded solemnly.

"Ok," I said, "I can feel other's feelings and block mind readers out of my mind. But I don't know what I am."

"Huh," Jacob piped. "Can you feel me?"

I smirked.

"Not like that!" Jacob backtracked.

"I know what you mean," I chuckled, "I've been calling it 'reading.'"

"Can you read me?" Jacob asked.

"Hmmm," I mused. I silently tried to push out my mind bubble, which cooperated with me and extended out. My sense of smell expanded, which made the world smell… different and varied.

"Woof!" I coughed.

"What?" Jacob looked concerned.

"Nothing," I cleared my throat, "I'm turning on my powers."

"Cool!" Jacob exclaimed. I noticed that my hearing had also improved, and his loud voice was now too loud. I winced.

"Jack?" Jacob was concerned. He was afraid he had hurt my feelings.

"I'm ok," I said, "I've tapped into your abilities."

Jacob was confused by that. "My abilities?"

"Is the world always so loud and… smelly for you?" I asked. Jacob laughed.

"I've never noticed."

I frowned. There was a rebellious hue in the air. I looked at the bike that stood between Jacob and me. Jacob looked at it too. A rabble of emotions bubbled up: pride, rebellion, excitement.

"Does your dad know about this?" I asked. Jacob dropped his smile, surprised. He looked away. Embarrassed?

"No," he admitted, "I was sneaky."

"What a rebel," I smirked. Jacob grinned sheepishly.

"You won't tell my dad, will you?"

"As long as you don't," I responded.


	13. Jacob's Friends

Jacob revealed to me that he actually had two motorbikes in his little garage. Since Billy's wheelchair couldn't maneuver the uneven ground between the garage and the house, just being in the garage kept the bikes sufficiently hidden. He was currently working on the red bike but fully intended to get both bikes running. He offered to teach me how to ride.

"Are you even old enough to ride a motorbike?" I asked.

Jacob gave me a comedically, surprised expression. "Sure am, officer. I'm sixteen."

"Well, I guess your age has never really stopped you before," I joked.

Jacob smiled and went back to clinking around inside the bike. While he worked, our conversation shifted to our powers. Jacob explained that among the youth of the Quileute, he had been one of the first to "phase." He had become close with the other new Shifters, including Cameron Ateara.

"Wait," I interrupted, "Is that the same Cameron we met at the bar?"

"Yeah!" Jacob said, "He moved away with his dad when he was younger, but now, he's back with his mom."

"Uh," I winced. Cameron and I had a bit in common, and it pained me to hear her be misgendered.

"He actually just moved back," Jacob continued, "I officially met him yesterday."

Just then, a call echoed in the distance. "Jacob?" someone shouted.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Speak of the devil!" Jacob grinned.

"Jake, are you there?" The shouting voice was closer now. I could feel two presences. One was excited with anticipation, and the other was anxious.

"Over here!" Jacob was excited too.

We waited through the short silence until two tall, dark-skinned boys strolled around the corner into the shed.

One was slender, and almost as tall as Jacob. He was wearing a hood with the hood up, and his scruffy chin-length hair was covering the left side of his face. The shorter boy was burly. His white T-shirt strained over his bulging pectorals. His hair was so short it was almost a buzzcut.

Both boys stopped short when they saw me. The one in the hoody was shocked to see me because she recognized me. It was Cameron. The other one nodded at me.

"Sup," he said. I glanced at him. He wasn't flustered; he was just unsure of what I was doing here.

"Embry, Cameron – this is my friend, Jack," Jacob introduced us.

"Charlie's kid, right?" The boy, who I figured was Embry, said, holding out his hand.

"That's right," I confirmed, shaking hands with him. His hand was larger than mine, which made me feel… small.

"I'm Embry," He confirmed as we released hands.

"Nice to meet you, bro."

I turned to Cameron, who had slinked to a corner. She didn't want me to see her. I felt her discomfort; she wasn't used to being around Jacob and Embry yet, me being here was just a bit too much for her. She glanced at me, turned away, and blushed. She felt like I was judging her. I looked away.

"Do you two know each other?" Embry asked, shifting his gaze between us.

"Me and Jack ran into Cam at the movies the other day," Jacob explained.

My attention darted to him. He was lying.

"Oh, cool," Embry moved on. He and Jacob started going over the bikes. With these two here, I didn't want to talk about my abilities.

I grew more uncomfortable as they continued. The connection I came here for wasn't happening. And with my mind bubble opened up, I couldn't pull it back in. On top of that, Cameron's dysphoria was triggering my own dysphoria. I felt simultaneously tiny compared to the others in the room and far too tall in comparison to… me.

I tried to reign in my bubble. It resisted me. A headache began to form from the strain of it. I pulled at it harder. _I don't want to ready everyone anymore!_

"Jack, you ok, buddy?" Jacob asked. He was apologetic. "Are we boring you?"

"Uh," I opened my eyes. I hadn't realized that I had put my hands over my temples. "No, I need to leave soon, though."

"Oh, ok," Jacob said, worried. He was afraid that I was sick.

"I'm fine," I assured him, "I just got a headache. It'll go away."

"Do you want to help with the bikes?" Jacob wanted me to say yes. He sympathized with me since he knew he was the only one I could talk to about my unique problems. It comforted me to feel how much he cared about me.

"I'll drop by tomorrow," I said, "I'm usually free on Sundays."

Jacob smiled, "Great! See you then!"

I walked to the door and stopped next to Cameron. She shied away from me. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn't know what to say to her that wouldn't creep her out. She looked at me, nervously.

"Hey," I said. Cameron flinched. "You ok?"

Cameron looked away, flustered. "Yes."

I lingered a bit too long and everyone in the room began to feel awkward. Suddenly embarrassed, I departed.

* * *

I beat Charlie home. When he walked in, I was just pulling the vegetarian quesadillas out of the oven.

"Hey, Dad," I smiled.

Shock flitted across his face before he pulled his expression together. "Hey," he said, he was uncertain how to talk to me. "Did you have fun with Jacob?"

I started setting the table. I didn't want to talk about it. "Yeah, I did."

"Well, that's good," He was still cautious. "What did you two do?"

It was my turn to be cautious. "We hung out in his garage and talked."

Charlie stopped asking questions when he started eating.

After dinner, I cleaned the kitchen and did my homework. Charlie watched a hockey game until he mentioned the late hour. When I didn't respond, he got up and left, turning the light off on the way out. Reluctantly, I followed.

As I climbed the stairs, I couldn't get this afternoon out of my mind. It was clear that Jacob had his own friends, his own life. It felt like I was just using Jacob to fill the supernatural void left in my life by Edward.

It was selfish of me. It was wrong.

I also couldn't deny my immediate connection to Cameron. I couldn't be sure if it was because of some weird mind thing on my end or because she was a transwoman or just because we were compatible as friends. I was afraid that I only liked her because she was trans, like me. It made me feel morally bankrupt.

Though these thoughts kept me up late into the night, I eventually succumbed to sleep.


	14. Insight

When I woke up the next day, I lay still in bed for a few minutes. I felt unsure about going to see Jacob today. I felt guilty about using him as a replacement friend. My mind started trying to convince me to cancel with Jacob. But I had promised to go, so not going would be worse.

I pushed all those thoughts from my mind, and concentrated, as I got dressed, on the fact that I was going to see Jacob again. I ignored the rabble of butterflies in my tummy. Would Cameron be there? I shook my head. What was wrong with me? I felt like I was getting unhealthily obsessed with her. I tried to convince myself she wouldn't be there, so I wouldn't be disappointed if she wasn't.

At breakfast, Charlie still seemed tense from last night. He tried to hide his scrutiny, keeping his eyes on his eggs until he thought I wasn't looking. Geez, was I really in that much of a funk for… four months? Yikes. Yeah, I guess I can see where my dad was coming from.

I shivered as my mind bubble expanded.

"What are you up to today?" he asked, eyeing a loose thread on the edge of his cuff. He was very attentive while he acted like he wasn't paying attention to my answer. He didn't want me to think he was worried about me.

"I'm going to hang out with Jacob again."

There was a glimmer of hope in Charlie. He was glad that I was hanging out with friends again. "Oh," he said.

"D-Do you mind?" I tried to act worried. "I could stay…"

He glanced up quickly, he didn't want me to stay cooped up in the house. "No, no! You go ahead. Harry was going to come up to watch the game with me anyway."

"Maybe Harry could give Bully a ride up," I suggested. This way, Billy couldn't overhear any conversations about me.

"That's a great idea."

Charlie was excited for me. He was also glad to have a break from work with his friends. He headed to the phone while I donned my rain jacket.

Outside, the rain poured down like it was being slopped from a bucket. I had to drive more slowly than I wanted to; I could hardly see a car length in front of the truck. I shivered every time a car passed me, and I felt the emotions of its passengers.

When I finally made it through the muddy lands to Jacob's house, he came running out with an umbrella. He held it over my door while I opened it. The world's smell became robust and earthy as Jacob entered my bubble.

"Charlie called – said you were on your way," Jacob explained with a grin. He was glad to see me.

"Hi, Jacob."

"Good call on inviting Billy up," He held his hand for a high five.

I had to reach so high to slap his hand that he laughed with amusement. I cringed, embarrassed. I was such a short boy.

Harry showed up to get Billy just a few minutes later. Jacob took me on a brief tour of his tiny living room while we waited to be unsupervised.

"So, what are your plans for today?" I asked as soon as the door closed behind Billy.

Jacob sat on the couch. "I wanted to get to know about your powers!"

I stayed in the doorway. "Sure, what do you want to know?"

"How do your powers work?" Jacob asked, "Like is your mind reading a one on one thing?"

"No," I explained, "It's more like a bubble around my head, and when it expands, whoever is inside it, I can read them."

"Oooh," Jacob cooed. He was interested. "Could your parents do all this too?"

"Not that I know."

"Really?" Jacob started fiddling with some tools that were on the center table. He hadn't lost interest, he just needed to keep his hands busy. "Where do you think you got your powers from?"

"Uh…" I hesitated.

"I won't tell anyone," Jacob promised.

"My mom," I said slowly. Something had just dawned on me, and it made me uncomfortable.

If I received my powers from her, why had she never shown signs that she had these abilities? If anything, she was very poor at understanding and empathizing with others. She had an incredibly difficult time taking others' emotions into considerations when she wanted something to go her way.

I remember all the mean things she said to me when I had come out to her. I remember she said she didn't believe me. I remember how she would pretend those conversations that we clearly had never happened. If she had the same powers I did, she should have known the truth of my feelings. How could she do all these things if she could feel my discomfort?

"Your mom sounds really cool," Jacob commented. He meant it, and he was a little envious. I rubbed my arm. My eyes flickered to him as I picked up on some eager jitteriness coming from him. I decided to take advantage of that.

"I don't feel like talking anymore," I said, "Wanna go work on your bike?"

"Yeah, actually," He said sheepishly, "Is that ok?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "I'm kind of getting bored here."

Once we were in Jacob's garage, I helped with the bike. Jacob taught me a little about how motorbikes worked, and I was able to help out.

"Wait. What did you say?" Jacob asked.

"What? Motorbike?" I responded.

"Yeah, that's not right."

"What?" I exclaimed, "I used that term yesterday!"

"I know, and I didn't say anything then," Jacob said, "But this is clearly a motorcycle."

"Pffft." I blew, "Same difference. I'm sure Cameron and What's-his-name would agree."

"Embry?" Jacob smirked, "He knows this is a motorcycle. It's too big to be a motorbike."

"Where are they, anyway?" I asked, very casually.

"Around," Jacob answered, he was still amused by my mistake. "They're probably doing homework."

"Oh," I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

We both jumped when we heard Billy calling for us.

I started gathering things to put them away.

"Just leave them," Jacob said, "I'll put them away later."

"Sure. Right," I said.

"Jack?"

Both our heads snapped up as Charlie's voice wafted through the trees. He was pretty close. My voice caught in my throat.

"We're coming!" Jacob yelled. He turned to me. "Come on."

Jacob snapped the lights off and hurried out. I hesitated. I didn't want to go out because I knew what I needed to do.

A few days ago, Charlie had suggested that I visit my mother. At that time, the idea had excited me. I wanted to connect with my mother and learn more about our family. But now, the thought filled me with dread because I didn't know how my mother's actions and our shared heritage could coincide. I couldn't imagine being mean to someone while taping into their emotions. How could she?

I was going to have to ask her.


	15. Happy Valentine's day

With my attention split between getting over my best friends by hanging out with Jacob and getting ready to visit my mom, my social life at school hadn't seemed very important. I had made sure to engage with my circle of friends, but I didn't really spend time with them outside of school anymore. I'm sure they noticed even though they hadn't said anything. But this left me unprepared for what was about to go down.

It's not that I hadn't noticed the tension slowly rising between my friends; I had. My powers would flicker in and out frequently so, it was impossible for me to miss how uncomfortable they were. I could feel the animosity Kevin felt for me, though, I still didn't know why. I could feel how Kate flirted with me made Eric feel. I could feel Teddy's concern for me, and though I tried to reassure him, his concern persisted.

No, it wasn't that I hadn't noticed my friends' mild misery; it's just that I had become accustomed to the abundance of mixed negative emotions at school. Everyone was uncomfortable about something in high school. After being bombarded by so many people's issues, I just didn't have the energy to address my friends' problems.

It also hadn't eluded me that our circle of friends had shrunk. A lot of the people who used to sit with us before had moved to different groups of friends. Now it was just me, Teddy, Kate, Kevin and Eric.

Near the end of January, Kate began to snuggle up to me. She didn't have a crush on me, but she sure acted like she did. This annoyed me because she was very touchy-feely with me, and I could feel a sort of anticipation from her, but I couldn't figure out what it meant. I tried to remain friendly with her; after all, I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Kevin, on the other hand, always seemed angered by Kate's actions. I didn't remember much from last year, but I did remember that I didn't like Kevin. We didn't talk to each other, and he rarely even mentioned me. It was like he was trying his hardest to pretend I didn't exist.

"Why do you do that?" Kevin asked one day. I rolled my eyes.

"Do what?" Kate asked.

"You know," Keven gestured to me.

"What is your problem with me?" I asked. Kevin looked taken aback. Everyone at out tabled looked away awkwardly.

"You're always so angry at me," I continued, "What did I do to you?"

"Not this again," Teddy groaned, "Let's not get into another fight."

I glanced at Teddy. "Did we get into a fight before?"

Everyone felt surprised and a little awkward.

"You don't remember?" Kevin asked. I rolled my eyes again.

"I got wrecked last year; I barely remember anything from before April," I stated. Everyone looked away, they felt guilty. Except for Kevin, who was annoyed. I looked around at them.

"You don't remember Kevin hitting you?" Eric asked, incredulously.

I frowned and turned to Kevin. "You hit me?"

"Only after you hit me!" Kevin rebutted.

I sat back and crossed my arms. "Must have been saying something stupid."

"F*** you, Jack," Kevin spat.

"He was," Teddy muttered. He felt annoyed at Kevin.

"Whatever. We only hang out with you because of what happened last year," Kevin spat. A pang shot through my friends. I looked around at them.

"What does that mean?"

Everyone's eyes darted around. They had trouble meeting my eyes. Eric and Kate felt guilty. They felt obligated to be here.

I looked down. I felt my face go hot. Well, this sucked. I began to realize that no one at the table here wanted to be with me. I was the problem. Again.

"You're an asshole, Kevin," Teddy commented. Kevin slammed his fists onto the table.

"It's not my fault Jack is always hanging out with us," he growled.

"No one is forcing you to be here, man!" Teddy exclaimed, "You can just f*** off any time you f***ing want!"

"I shouldn't have to leave because of her," Kevin pointed at Kate. Huh? Oh, wait, no. He meant me, he was purposely misgendering me. I had forgotten that the events of last year had outed me. I could feel my muscles tensing. Beside me, Kate was feeling pity for me. This enraged me because I didn't want to be pitied. I snapped to her.

"Excuse me? Do you feel sorry for me?" I asked accusingly. She was surprised.

"I – uh – no! I mean, you're always so gloomy!"

I scowled.

"Of course he's in a funk," Teddy said, "He lost his girlfriend and his best friend in the same week!"

"Oh, come on!" Kevin thundered, "That was like forever ago."

"Wait," I said slowly to Kate, "Is that why you've been acting so weird around me?"

She blinked like she had been caught committing a crime. "What? I haven't been acting… uh, you know… I like you." She was caught in a lie.

"Really?" I shifted away from her, "You're acting like this to… what? Make me feel better?"

"The Valentine's day dance is coming up. I thought you'd want to … you know…" she looked away, awkwardly, "go with someone."

"Were you trying to get me to ask you out?" I asked, very befuddled.

Kate broke. "Screw you, Jack! I'm giving up the chance to go with a real guy for you."

My mind bubble retracted violently, and it was just me against the world. The fact was that no one here even saw me as "real." They thought I was just putting on a show or something.

I could feel the aggression in the glare I gave Kate. She shrank away from me.

"Jesus Christ, Kate." Teddy sighed.

I slammed my hands onto the table as I stood up. Everyone looked at me.

"I'm going to get out of your hair," I said, "See you around."

Then I left. There was a torrent of noise, but I couldn't read anyone. I wouldn't have the energy to deal with that if I could anyways.

It seemed no matter where I went, I wore out the people around me. I was emotionally draining.


	16. My Dad's Ex

March break felt like it was taking forever to arrive. I had booked my tickets and packed a suitcase for it, cutting my wardrobe for the few school days by half. But I was deeply unhappy. I could barely retain the anger and disappointment in my mother building up within me.

I didn't stop hanging out with Jacob, though I probably should have. I was very tuned out while I was there. Cam visited once, which had startled me. I remember trying to make small talk with her and failing. We had both been so uncomfortable that we could do nothing except sit in awkward silence.

At school, I tried to stay as isolated as possible. I didn't want my feelings mingling with anyone else's. I stopped eating in the cafeteria and took to listening to loud music between classes. It didn't help get rid of everyone's feelings, but it let me focus on my own emotions better.

And before I knew it, a mere couple of days after I said that I wasn't moping, I began to mope, hard. And before in knew it, it felt like Charlie was constantly on my case with the "You don't do anything" and "You need to stop moping." He was legitimately concerned about me. But, with how angry I was, most of the time, I couldn't bring myself to respond as I knew I'd react with aggression.

A few days before I was scheduled to leave to visit phoenix, I popped like a soda can that had been shaken for two weeks straight and then opened. What broke this damn was Charlie asking what was wrong with me. What was wrong with me? I had no idea that this question would break me. It made sense. I had pretty much been asking myself what was wrong with me since I was seven, and I had been trying to answer it with "nothing, I'm fine."

However, when Charlie cornered me in my room and expressed his concern in an exasperated manner, that question was the last thing he should have asked. I snapped.

"Excuse me," I hissed incredulously, "You didn't seriously just ask me that, did you?"

Charlie felt immediate regret. "It's just that…"

"Do you really want to know the answer to that question?" I yelled. "Everything is wrong with me!"

Charlie blinked.

"My gender is wrong, my mind is wrong, my feelings are wrong, heck, even my shoulder is wrong."

I covered my face.

"Everything is going wrong too. My friends don't actually like me. They were only hanging out with me because they felt sorry for me. Hanging out with Jacob makes me feel like shit. I'm mad at mom, and worst of all, I can't talk to you about any of it because you're so busy."

Charlie remained silent while I gulped down some angry breaths. I uncovered my eyes and glared at my dad.

"Let's not forget the crazed maniac who almost killed me last year is still out there doing God knows what!"

That last part stung him. He looked down and understood that in a way, he had let me down. He felt lost and overwhelmed. He wanted me to be happy, and he didn't know how to achieve that.

It infuriated me that I couldn't control my powers at all anymore. My mind bubble pooled out when it wanted to regardless of what I did to try to contain it. It was out now, absorbing Charlie's pain.

I backed away from him and leaned against the wall.

We stayed there for a while.

"I'm sorry," Charlie eventually said. "I just want you to be happy."

"I know!" I exclaimed, "and that sucks too because I feel like I'm failing you by not being able to fix me!"

Charlie stood in front of me. He felt a flurry of emotions, and they paralyzed him with a paradox of choices. He wanted to comfort me, but he just didn't know how. I could feel his mind flitting through options.

"Why are you mad at Mom?" He asked after a long pause.

I felt my face go hot. I didn't want to get into that with him.

"She wasn't accepting at first." I said slowly, "She said some really mean things."

Charlie nodded. "She could be pretty stubborn."

"What did you see in her?" I asked. Charlie shrugged and looked down.

"We were young," He started, "She was lively and creative. I liked that about her. She was spontaneous."

In the silence, I was taken aback by how quickly the situation had spontaneously cooled down. We had both deflated in defeat. There was no solution to this problem. I felt waves of nostalgia coming from Charlie as he really hadn't gotten over Renée.

"Why'd you break up?"

Charlie bit his lip, "She didn't like it here, and I didn't want to move."

I sat on my bed. In a few days, I was going to come face to face with my mom: the woman who helped me medically transition but also the woman who had emotionally neglected me.

I sighed.

"Are you going to stay in Phoenix?" Charlie asked quietly. He was afraid that he had pushed me too far.

"No, Dad," I said, "It's still just a visit. I don't think I have the energy to live with mom."

Charlie nodded and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry, Jack," He said and left.

I flopped down on my bed and heaved a heavy sigh. Despite how unpleasant this had been, I realized that it had been slightly cathartic. I hadn't realized how much energy had been pent up inside me. It was good that I got rid of some of it before I visited mom.

Suddenly, I was alert again. My mind was picking up on someone else nearby. I shot up into the seated position and looked around.

Someone was watching me.

A part of me hoped it was Edward, perched outside my window like a human-sized bird. I looked to the window and…

Well, it wasn't Edward. It was a falcon. It looked small and dainty. And it was surprised that I was looking at it. I was intrigued by it. I had never seen a falcon this close up. I waved at it and smiled. It cocked its head at me, and I froze.

It understood that gesture.

I slowly approached the window and opened it. The falcon hesitated.

"Hey," I said. The falcon bounced on its branch nervously. I waved at it again. This time it flew off.

"What am I doing?" I asked myself. I closed my window and went to bed.


	17. My Mom's Dad

So many thoughts raced through my head during the flight. I was going to give my mom a piece of my mind. I was going to tell her how angered I was that she had hurt me even though she should have been able to feel my emotions. But then I felt guilty.

Maybe my mom didn't have those powers; after all, mine hadn't shown up until recently. But perhaps she did have powers; because when I was thirteen, she suddenly switched to supporting me. After enough of my suffering, she couldn't take it anymore, and she caved in to my needs! If that was the case, how could she be so… ignorant?

But then again, she was always so scatterbrained. She really was like a child who just didn't know better. You can't get mad at a child for being ignorant, except my mother wasn't a child! She was a grown woman who had a child who needed her.

I flip-flopped like this all the way to Phoenix.

I finally decided to express my disappointment to my mom. As we landed, I prepared my totally rational and calm explanation.

"Jack! Honey!" My mother cried as soon as she saw me, bouncing on her toes like an excited five-year-old. As soon as I saw this, all my aggression dissipated. I saw her, and I couldn't stay angry with her.

"Hi, mom," I called out. She surged forth and hugged me.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" She squealed.

"Me too!" I muffled into her shoulder.

I let her prattle on about her life on the way home. She went on about Phil and his career and their living conditions. I didn't really pay attention because it was way too much too fast. I nodded politely while my diaphragm sunk into my stomach. When we got to her house, I noticed that it was empty.

"Hey, where's Phil?" I asked nonchalantly.

"He's at an away game, honey!" Mom answered, "I told you on the way here. I stayed here for your visit!"

She sat on the couch and patted the spot beside her. I sighed and plopped myself next to her.

"So?" she grinned at me.

"What?" I felt heavy anticipation coming from her; she wanted something from me.

"You know…" She hinted. She was excited. She seemed to believe that I was playing coy. Then it dawned on me.

"Oh, shoot!" I exclaimed, "I left the camera at home!"

"Oh, my God! Are you serious!" She exclaimed, "I kept emailing you about that!"

"I've been distracted," I muttered.

"Ugh, you always do this," Mom said as she got up, "You never listen to me."

She felt slighted and personally attacked as if I had done this on purpose to hurt her.

"I know, Mom," I said, falling easily into old habits, "It's alright. I'll email you the photos when I get back."

"But I wanted to see them now." Mom whined.

"I know," I reassured her. I frowned. I was the parent again. This wasn't why I came here.

"Mom," I said slowly. She looked up at me. Her annoyance had been placated.

"Do you…" I wanted to describe my powers in as little words as possible, "understand how others feel?"

My mom felt confused and offended. She must have thought I was insulting her intelligence. I sighed in exasperation and interrupted her before she could start defending herself.

"I mean…" I tried to get my thoughts collected, "Do you ever feel anyone else's emotions as your own?"

She scrunched her face up, confused.

"Can't you feel how tired I am?" I asked pointedly.

She looked at me. She felt regret.

"Am I doing it again?" She whispered.

"Doing what?" I asked, taken aback. Could she read me? Was she reading me now?

"Stamping you down." She answered. I blinked. She wasn't reading me; she was recognizing her past behavior.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

Mom looked down. "Because you're talking to me like that again."

I sagged into the couch. She had no idea about empathic powers. She wasn't picking up on my emotions, she was picking up on my language and tone. I remember that I got very assertive about my situation when I was a tween. I desperately did not want to hit female puberty.

I mean, I did anyway because I started hormone-blockers much too late, in my opinion.

"Are you ok, Be… I mean, Jack?" Mom slipped up.

I looked up at her.

"Life is getting weird for me," I admitted. Mom came back to the couch and sat near me.

"Is it because of 'the incident?'" she asked. I paused I slowly realized something. My new skills only appeared after "the incident." Were they triggered by that event?

"Maybe," I said slowly, "Things did get weird after that."

"How so, sweetie?" Mom asked. I looked at her. I didn't want her to think I was crazy. I needed to find a way to ease her into this.

"What were your parents like?" I asked. My mom blinked. She was not prepared for a question like that.

"Huh?" she blurted. "My parents?"

"Yeah," I said nervously, "I mean, I know Grandma died young, but what about your dad? I've never really heard about him."

She looked off into the distance.

"He took care of me until he couldn't," she reminisced, "I don't know that much else about him. I stayed with my mom until she couldn't take care of me either. Then I lived with Obaa."

Obaa was Mom's nickname for her grandmother. I knew about this, though.

"What can you tell me about your dad?" I pushed, "Is he still alive?"

"I think he is," Mom said with considerable uncertainty. "I get letters from him every now and then."

I gaped. "What?!"

Mom flinched, startled. "Yeah. I don't read them, though."

"Why not?!" I exclaim.

"Because he walked out on me and my mom," Mom said indignantly. I frowned.

"Didn't you walk out on Dad?"

"Well, yeah," Mom blushed, "but that's different. I took you with me."

I was a little confused about her logic, but it felt like she resented her father for ditching her. Which, I guess, explains why her situation is different because, unlike her dad, she didn't ditch me.

"Mom," I said carefully.

"What?" She answered back with just as much care.

"Would you mind if I looked at those letters?"


	18. Letters from a Ghost

She had the letters in a small shoebox in the attic.

I sat in the small space by myself. I didn't want her around. I wanted to only focus on what I was feeling while reading these letters.

With trembling fingers, I shuffled through them. There weren't that many.

Doing the math in my head, I deduced that my mom would have received the earlier letters while she was a teenager. They were delivered infrequently and at random dates. It would be easy to believe that he only sent these when my mom popped into his head out of the blue. None of the letters was opened.

I took a deep breath and opened the first one.

"Dear Renée,

I've written you this letter to apologize for my absence in your life. Though I cannot regale you with the reasons at the moment, know that I still care about you.

I've kept my eye on you. I am impressed with what you've accomplished. You are growing into an amazing woman.

I hope to one day give you your birthright.

Love

Dad"

Most of the letters were like this. They mostly commented on vague happenings in her life, stuff you could hear about from the friends of the friends of her family. But later letters began including ambiguous events from his life. It wasn't clear, but it looked like he was in trouble with something which was why he left and couldn't return. It became increasingly evident that he was sending the letters when he had the chance and that if he had it his way, he'd send one daily.

The letters didn't really involve people other than him and my mom, until a letter that was delivered during the time I would have been nine years old.

"Dearest Renée,

I want to start off this letter by saying that I understand your fear and concern. What you're feeling is valid and real.

And while I will never stop loving you, I must say; I am very disappointed in how you are treating your son."

A chill ran up my spine.

He knew about me. I mean, yeah; he had congratulated my mom on getting married and the birth of her baby, but he'd never specifically talked about me. At that point in my life, I was only out to my mom; no one outside us knew what I was feeling. This letter showed that he knew more about her life than was possible for someone who was supposedly so far away.

I quickly looked around me. My skin felt like it wanted to crawl off me. I felt watched. Was he watching now? Even my mind bubble pooled out slowly and cautiously.

Nothing. No one other than me and my mom was here. Was it possible that he could shield himself from me like I could shield myself from Edward? I shivered.

I uneasily returned to the letters.

I began to pop up more and more in the later letters. I remained unnamed as though he didn't know my name, but it was inescapable that he knew more about me than my mom did. He even alluded to the incident when I was fourteen. He chastised my mom for her lack of empathy and mishandling of the situation. Though he wrote that I had his support and love, I was low-key scared of him.

At this point, I had gotten to the last letter. It was dated May of last year, but it wasn't written by my mom's dad. All the letters up to now had been beautifully handwritten. My grandpa had amazing cursive penmanship, it looked like calligraphy. But this last letter was written by someone else.

"Hey Renée,

I have written you because your father has died. I can't tell you what went down, but he wanted me to write to you and your son.

So, Renée: Your dad wanted me to tell you that he loves you and he's happy that you're happy. He's bummed out that he couldn't teach you about your heritage himself. He hopes that you continue to be your best self.

To Jack…"

I shivered. Of course, he knew my name.

"To Jack: He wanted me to tell you to be strong. He's got a feeling that you're going to be more 'in the family business' than your mom was, and he's sorry that you'll need to figure most of this stuff out on your own. He also thinks it's kind of fun that you two have the same name now.

My condolences.

~X"

I stared at this letter. I didn't really know how to feel about this. On one hand, it sounded like my grandpa was definitely the same thing I was. He was empathetic and magic in some way. On the other hand, I found it unnerving how much he knew about us. Was I able to spy on and stalk my friends like this if I wanted to? I'm not sure if I wanted to find out. And on yet another hand, he was dead now. I felt my mind pull in as I tried to organize my feelings.

How was I supposed to feel about this man who clearly loved my mom and me? He probably would have been able to help me sort out what I was going through, and I was sure I would have gotten support and love from him had I been able to write him. But, he was dead now. Was I supposed to be sad for this person I was only now beginning to get to know?

Another thing that confused me was the language of this last letter. It felt much more… modern than his other letters. Who was this "X?" They sounded young.

"Jaaaack!" My mom called.

I flinched as my heart shot up into my throat.

"Dinner tiiiiime!"

What was I to do now? Should I tell her about the contents of these letters, or should I keep them to myself?

Would she be able to understand what these letters even meant?

My mind flashed back to all the times I tried to talk to her about my personal problems. When I was nine, when I was fourteen and even when I was seventeen.

No.

These letters were staying with just me.


	19. Third Wheel

I had mulled over the letters in my head for the rest of my visit. I was glad that I had only planned to stay with my mom for a few days instead of the full week of March Break.

I tried to act normal when I returned, but I could feel my dad sense something different. He didn't say anything. I think this was because he didn't know if what I was feeling was good or bad. To be fair, I wasn't really sure either.

Since my dad still worked during the day, I was able to reread the letters. I tried to gain as much insight on my grandpa's abilities as I could, but the letters were too vague to really get anything. I sighed in frustration.

The day after I had returned, I felt like I needed a fresh pair of eyes on this. I decided to see if I could pick Jacob's brain on this. So, I shot my dad a text and gave Jacob a heads up. I hid the letters in my vest inner pocket.

Jacob was waiting for me when I arrived. I parked my car in front of the Black's house. There didn't seem to be any sign of Billy.

"Hey, Jack," Jacob called.

I smiled back as best I could. "Hello, Jacob."

"Come on!" Jacob said in a low but eager voice.

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Jacob grinned at me, cheekily. "Help me get the bikes in your truck."

"Uh…" I hesitated. I wasn't sure what Jacob was up to, and I sort of wanted to talk to him about the letters.

"I'm going to teach a friend how to ride these," Jacob said as he pulled one of the bikes from under a spruce. They were pretty much invisible to the house. "If you want, I can teach you too."

"Yeah…" I said slowly. I didn't feel confident enough to be on a motorcycle, but I'm sure I'd look pretty cool.

Jacob and I loaded the bikes into the bed of the truck with ease, laying them carefully on their sides, so they didn't show.

"Let's go!" he said, his excitement infecting me. "I know the perfect spot – no one will catch us there!"

"Who's your friend?" I asked with a no doubt, goofy grin on my face.

"Cam!"

My smile faltered. I hadn't really been thinking about Cam, and I wasn't sure if I was prepared to meet her again. With Jacob sitting excitedly in my truck's passenger seat, I felt like I couldn't turn this down.

We drove south of town. The dirt wove in and out of the forest – sometimes there was nothing but trees, and then there would suddenly be a breathtaking glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, reaching the horizon, dark grey cliffs that bordered the beach here, and the view seemed to stretch on forever.

I was driving slowly so that I could safely distract myself with the scenery. Jacob was going on about the bikes, but I was too distracted to listen.

"Am I boring you, Jack?" Jacob asked suddenly. I signed. I guess I looked as distracted as I felt.

"No," I said, "I'm just stuck in my own head."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Jacob exclaimed, feeling guilty.

"For what?" I asked.

"You wanted to talk about something," Jacob looked away, bashfully, "I totally sidetracked the conversation."

I smiled weakly. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to talk about the letters anymore. I was too preoccupied with Cam.

"So," Jacob noted encouragingly, "What did you want to talk about?"

I felt my mind shrink as I formulated what I wanted to say about my grandfather.

After collecting my thoughts for a moment, I went over what I felt the letters implied. Jacob listened in silence, nodding every now and then.

"So," He said after I finished my explanation, "You and your gramps can keep tabs on people you like, feel other people's emotions and have some sort of 'birthright?'"

"Yes. Pretty much." I felt my cheeks grow warm; for some reason, I felt like I hadn't described the letters well enough.

Jacob thought for a bit. "Did he write about what you call yourselves?"

I shook my head. "No. He went on about wanting to teach me and my mom stuff but…"

"But, then he died." Jacob finished.

"Yeah."

"Do you know anything about this 'X' guy that could help you get in contact with him?"

I sighed. "No, all I have is the letter he wrote which had no return to sender address on it." I sounded much more frustrated than I expected. I guess this whole situation was annoying. I had so many questions and answers that only brought up more questions. In retrospect, why did I dump all this on Jacob? There wasn't enough information for him to make anything of it either.

"You just missed the turn," Jacob said after a long pause.

I executed a very tight U-turn, nearly tipping the car over. The bike hit the rim of their confinement with a loud thunk

"Thanks for the heads-up" I smirked.

"What sort of driving was that?!" Jacob exclaimed, "You nearly flipped the truck and totalled the bikes!"

I laughed, "Oh that? I learned that from…"

Alia. I remember she pulled a similar manoeuvre, and I had reacted like Jacob. I felt an odd tug on my heart. I still missed her.

"You can stop anywhere along here," Jacob said breathlessly.

I pulled over and cut the engine. Jacob and I got out of the car. As Jacob went to inspect the condition of the bikes, Cameron slowly walked over to us from behind a tree.

"Hey," She said quietly. I waved at her, not trusting my voice at this moment. I was all over the place emotionally now. I was annoyed, melancholy and now, seeing Cameron, nervous.

She was dressed in an oversized hoody and tight sweatpants. I could feel the awkward levels between us rise as I stared at her. I eventually purposely looked up at the sky, pretending to notice something interesting.

"Hey, Cam!" Jacob called, "Would you mind letting Jack join us?"

Cameron swept her bangs out of her face. "I thought you said it was just going to be us." She said quietly. Her discomfort radiated off her. It made me feel invasive.

"I told Jack I'd teach him how to ride too!" Jacob lied, "I figured two birds one stone."

"Wow, real sensitive of you," Cameron chuckled weakly. She was putting on a brave face, but her feelings were still hurt.

"I know right?" Jacob grinned. He had no idea how badly she was feeling.

"I don't have to be here," I said apologetically, "I'll wait in the car."

Jacob set up the bikes next to each other. "Nonsense, we got two bikes!"

"Won't you need a bike to teach us?" I asked, hoping he'd get the hint.

"We can all take turns," Jacob grinned, "It's not that difficult."

Cameron and I exchanged a nervous glance. This felt planned. Like, Jacob had planned this. I hadn't been able to tap into Jacob's feeling during the ride here because I had been focused on my own issues.

What was he up to?


End file.
